Just got back from Mason elementary school where hometown hero LeBron James was warmly welcomed and thanked by Akron third graders for his investment in their education.

"Mr. LeBron" read the Dr. Seuss classic: "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" to the third graders who scooted closer on the gym floor to be near the NBA star. Helpers turned the pages of an enormous edition of the book behind him so everyone could follow along.

• Two new members have been elected to the Northeast Ohio Medical University Foundation Board of Directors – Dean L. Olivieri, president of Fred Olivieri Construction, and Bruce E. Sherman, president of Sherman Creative Promotions Inc. The foundation aims to strengthen the financial capacity of the university and broaden access to medical and pharmacy education.

CLEVELAND: Universities in Ohio have joined schools nationwide in trying to keep their good names sullied by new, X-rated Internet domain.

The Plain Dealer of Cleveland reports Ohio State, the University of Akron, Oberlin College and other universities in Ohio are trying to lock down web addresses ending in .xxx that would feature school names, mascots and other recognizable branding.

Ohio Auditor David Yost has officially released Springfield Local Schools from fiscal emergency and state oversight. (note: auditor's release has a mistake. Springfield closed one elementary school, not two).

The district didn't pass any new operating taxes to climb out, unlike Little Miami, which slipped into fiscal emergency a year ago and passed a nearly 14-mill levy in November by 61 votes (might be a recount there).

If you're 12 and want to know how to make a video game, say, a Justin Bieber whack-a-mole iPhone application, where do you go to learn how? Let Thomas Suarez, who started an app club at school, explain it all for you.

Geraldine Hayes-Nelson, executive director of program and community outreach for Kent State, was named the 2011 TRIO Achiever by the Mid-America Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel, which hosts federally funded programs for first-generation, low-income and physically challenged students. Nelson benefitted from a federally funded program for students with disadvantaged backgrounds.

The family of a 14-year-old girl has sued school officials in Green, alleging they failed to stop physical and emotional bullying aimed at their daughter in part because she is Jewish.

The parents sued in U.S. District Court after withdrawing their daughter from Green High School last month because, according to the lawsuit, officials did nothing to stop the taunting, violence and threats of violence. The name of the family is being withheld to protect the identity of the girl.

Native Americans often teach with stories, and Norma Wolfchief-Gourneau told a compelling one to students at the Lippman School Thursday morning.

Wolfchief-Gourneau, the former vice president of the Northern Cheyenne Nation, along with two other tribal leaders, visited Lippman to share their culture and set the stage for a May field trip that 10 Lippman middle school students will take to their reservation in southeast Montana.

Tribal leaders of the Northern Cheyenne Nation visited The Lippman School today to talk to students about Cheyenne culture and traditions. Ten middle school students at Lippman will visit the Northern Cheyenne reservation in southeastern Montana in May. They will speak to a public audience this evening at 6:30 p.m. at the JCC Auditorium. Seen in the video are Norma Wolfchief-Gourneau, Richard Littlebear, president of Chief Dull Knife College, a two-year community college, and Barbara Braided Hair.

CLEVELAND: Top civic leaders among the Cleveland State University alumni ranks helped turn the first shovels of dirt Wednesday for a $50 million housing-retail complex that it calls the city's largest residential development in more than 30 years.

U.S. Rep. Marcia Fudge of Cleveland, Mayor Frank Jackson and Cleveland City Council President Martin Sweeney, all alumni, participated in the groundbreaking under a tent and threatening skies.

The Akron school board tonight authorized the district to begin its search for a principal to head the new STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) high school, which will open next fall in the former Central-Hower High School.

The new principal will be paid $93,732 and will have a say in the hire of staff for the new school, who must interview for the positions.

Akron Public Schools transportation coordinator Kathy Kiehl will speak to a statewide conference on Nov. 9 in Columbus showcasing the state's best examples of reducing costs in non-instructional areas of the school budget.

The conference is sponsored by Ohio Education Matters, a subsidiary of KnowledgeWorks in Cincinnati. The organization recognized Akron Public Schools earlier this year for "providing non-instructional services more efficiently than other similar districts in the state."

Michael Winerip reports in the New York Times that the Tennessee system of evaluating teachers based on test scores includes peculiar provisions for teachers who teach subjects not included in statewide tests. No test scores for the art teacher? No problem in Tennessee:

Ohio is working now on a system for evaluating teachers in which the standardized test scores of their students account for 50 percent of their evaluation. It has to be ready by the 2013-2014 school year. But like Tennessee, not all subjects in Ohio are tested and the ones that are, aren't tested in every grade. If value-added measures are to be used, they're only applicable for grades 4-8 and just for reading and math.

Those people who take the time and initiative to pursue knowledge on their own are the only ones who earn a real education in this world. Take a look at any widely acclaimed scholar, entrepreneur or historical figure you can think of. Formal education or not, you'll find that he or she is a product of continuous self-education.

LeBron James recorded a robocall that went out to 30,000 Akron voters on Nov. 1 who heard him say this:

''Hello, this is LeBron James asking you to support Issue 14 for Akron's Public Schools. The strength of our community and the Akron Public Schools were a blessing in my life. Without issue 14, our schools are facing massive cuts and a future seriously threatened. Our kids are the foundation of Akron. They deserve the best schools the best educational opportunities.Please remember to vote for Issue 14 next Tuesday November 8th. Education matters to me and Akron's future. "

The state is surveying local school officials to determine how much they work together to share expenses and services. See the Beacon Journal's Government Efficiency Blog for more details. Beacon Journal reporter Dave Scott writes the Government Efficiency Blog, which you can check out here.

Residents of Akron's Buchtel cluster will begin a discussion series this Saturday (Nov. 5) to talk about the future of the cluster's schools. The series is sponsored by The Akron Neighborhood Trust's Project Ujima.

A North Canton fourth-grader was standing at her teacher's desk at the front of the room Monday morning when a softball-size rock crashed through the back window, sailed over the heads of her seated classmates and struck her above the right eyebrow and fractured her skull.

The rock didn't knock her off her feet and she didn't lose consciousness, but the girl was taken to Akron Children's Hospital and was scheduled for surgery Tuesday morning to correct her dented skull.